Pawtec External USB 3.0 Aluminum 8X DVD-RW Writer Optical Drive with Lightscribe (Black)

I originally gave this drive a low review, because of the lack of a full version of light scribe software. The manufacture did contact me via email and gave me a link to a free version of the software. I have to say, I am happy they were concerned enough to reply this way. I did load the 3rd part software and can do full light scribe labels now. The LaCie software they told me about was not as good and easy as HP's but it definitely serves it purpose.Manufacture followed up and provided ling to the free software, which was very helpful. as of 12/1/14, unit is still working flawlessly.

I have have only tried this drive a few times since it arrived. I had considered sending it back because the plastic piece on the front of the drive door was not manufactured correctly, and so it is loose, and pulls away when one eases the drive tray open if grabbed from the loose side. Typical cheap Chinese manufacturing practices. That said, a little bit of glue will attach the piece to the drive front for the life of the drive.I was impressed with the drive's packaging. Very green and all recyclable. As far as I can tell, the drive performs to the specs and works well with my aging MacPro as an external drive using USB 2. Other then the front piece, being bad, the body of the drive appears well made. I like that it is metal rather then plastic.I will update this review if I gain any insights as I use it.

Easy to set up, powered from the computer, no power pack needed! Works great for producing LightScribe labels. Only negative - disc tray is rather flimsy, need two hands to position or remove the disc from the tray; otherwise a great value!

Great for burning DVDs, but the Lightscribe software never worked on my Windows 8 PC. I emailed the company through their website, but got no response. Just today it stopped working and won't light up anymore.

Product performs as advertised. I purchased it for its LightScribe capabilities. I also wanted a sturdier piece of hardware than the DVD drive that cam with my Dell XPS. On that score I was disappointed, perhaps this is the "new normal" for DVD drives but it felt very very flimsy. No operational issues thus far just seems like you need to be very gentle when insert and removing media if you want the drive to last. I also found a conflict when using with my Logitech wireless mouse. When both of the DVD drives USB cords are connected (power&data) my wireless went uncontrollably waywire. I resorted to using a wired mouse whenever I need to plug the DVD drive in.

Bought two of these. First one worked perfectly burning 4 CDs and using Lightscribe. I used it next about 4 months later--would not even read a CD. The second unit I bought never worked at all--discovered this after warranty was up. Am appealing to Pawtec for a replacement but they haven't responded. (To add insult to injury, after reporting the problem to them on their website, it triggered spam to my email.)I'm out $120. Really disappointed because they seem to be the only ones offering the Lightscribe feature.Better hope you're lucky if you buy one of these.

I bought this item to use with my new computer with USB 3 and 3.1 It works fast and accurately. The LightScribe labeling is well etched and easy to read. I chose this one because of the higher ratings of similar equipment. I am hard to please, and this one pleases me.

I needed a DVD writer that also had LightScribe capabilities, at a decent price. Considering what I paid for it, and the functionality it provided, this was a pretty good investment. The case is a solid aluminum case rather than plastic, which makes it more robust. It started working instantly on my Windows 7 laptop without any issues. My only complaint is the speed of the LightScribe that seems to be slow, but I didn't have any point of reference to compare to.